How many years have you gone to QuickBooks Connect?
This will be my 3rd year.
How long have you been working with QuickBooks Online?
I was introduced to QuickBooks Online in 2014 in the early days of LeanLaw product development. I really began to understand it as a law firm invoicing tool as we brought the product to market in 2016. The key moment was at QuickBooks Connect in 2017 when LeanLaw’s CTO, Fred Willerup and I were having lunch with a few accounting folks. In that conversation, we needed to speak in accounting language and not legal vernacular. That’s the moment when we finally understand the importance of the accounting community as a real customer and ally to LeanLaw. While they don’t pay for LeanLaw, we’re here to service them. This radically changed our thinking and had a direct impact on our product development, marketing, and support.
What have you learned about the QuickBooks community by going to the conference?
I like to say bookkeepers are huggers: we learned how connected and supportive the QuickBooks community is. When we went to our second QuickBooks Connect, folks that we only knew online kept coming to our booth and introducing themselves. Always, we parted with a hug. We are grateful to be part of this community and want to continue to contribute.
Why should an accounting pro go to QuickBooks Connect 2019 for the first time?
Community. Yes, there is much to be learned from the conference and I don’t want to underestimate the value of the education, but the real gift is the people you get to meet, collaborate and build relationships with. This will carry over to your real worlds and bind the online relationships you already have.
What are you looking forward to at the conference?
Seeing folks that I have interacted during the year. Showing LeanLaw to new people and seeing their reaction as to how awesome the product is and what a great solution it is for their clients. I know this sounds salesy, but it’s the truth. When we get to see the impact on the end-users of something we have worked so hard on, it translates into real joy and purpose.
What do you hope to accomplish at QuickBooksConnect?
We want LeanLaw to be known as the legal tool for QuickBooks Online. That’s the number one goal. We also want to be associated with those Pro Advisers that want to niche into law. We’re here to help that process.
If a colleague were on the fence about going to QuickBooks Connect, what would you tell them?
There isn’t another opportunity like QuickBooks Connect. If you go and commit to meet folks, attend the lectures, and implement key learnings, you will be paid back in spades. Most folks are alone in the world trying to figure all of this out. QuickBooks Connect goes a long way to building a real foundation that allows Pro Advisers to thrive. You have to make the investment, but you will reap the rewards.
If you are going to QuickBooks Connect, stop by our booth, D11, and pick up a I ♥ Lawyers tshirt. We hope to see you there!
